Thursday, December 27, 2012

“The Repugnance of Leftist Racism”

Sydney M. Williams

Thought of the Day

“The Repugnance of Leftist Racism”

December 27, 2012

“I think one of the most threatening places to be in politics is a black Republican.” So stated Tim Scott, newly appointed Senator from South Carolina in a recent Wall Street Journal interview with Stephen Moore. What lends so much meaning to Representative Scott’s words was a mean-spirited op-ed by Adolph Reed of the University of Pennsylvania in the December 19th issue of the New York Times. Professor Reed writes that “modern black Republicans have been more tokens than signs of progress.”

Politics is a blood sport, and nowhere is this so true as when Leftist’s become condescending because independent minded black conservatives violate their concept of the stereotypical African-American – a man or woman who eschews individual responsibility for dependency on government. It is an insult to the independence (and independent thinking) of millions of African-Americans, many of whom believe in certain aspects of conservativism. It is also an insult to the precepts of conservativism, which celebrate, among other factors, aspiration, personal responsibility, the rule of law and the concept that freedom and property are closely linked.

Professor Adolph Reed concludes his op-ed with these incredulous (and demeaning to blacks) sentences: “Republicans will not gain significant black support unless they take policy positions that advance black interests. No number of Tim Scotts – or other cynical tokens – will change that.” The presumption Professor Reed is making is that blacks are incapable of adapting a political philosophy that transgresses the desires of special interest groups. In such declarations, the Left’s attitude would have found common ground in the colonialism of the 19th Century. It is an insult to men and women like Tim Scott, Colin Powell, Condoleezza Rice, Clarence Thomas and millions of others.

A problem of politics, but especially among those on the Left, is to compartmentalize their constituents. They do so because it is easier and more productive to address communities rather than individuals. It accounts for the Left’s obsession with race, whether it is Blacks, Asians or Hispanics. Mr. Obama’s election was supposed to lead to a post-racial world. It hasn’t. The Left has become more strident (and, in fact repugnant, to the extent that Professor Reed’s op-ed reflects Leftist thinking.) It is a supercilious attitude that finds it impossible to imagine an intelligent minority finding comfort in the polices of conservativism. It is repugnant.